We should march on Washington to protest free trade

After World War II, American workers were the best paid in the world and the middle class was the wealthiest. America was the breadbasket of the world and its manufacturing was the most efficient. What happened? Look at us now.

With each purchase of an American product — whether manufactured, grown or mined — American workers and retirees benefited, along with the federal, state and local governments, the Social Security trust fund and Medicare. With the purchase of a foreign- made product, all of the above suffer a net loss.

America has become a nation of importers and consumers. It is running a trade deficit of $2 billion a day. Over the last 20 years, we have accumulated a trade deficit of more than $4 trillion. This is more than $13,000 each American owes to a foreign country.

Warren Buffet said it well: “We are becoming a nation of share croppers.”

For the first time in American history, children of the middle class will have a lower standard of living than their parents.

Our wages are stagnating or declining and the cost of energy, food and health care continue to increase.

For the first time in our country’s history, we are importing more agricultural products than we are exporting. Imported food is not safe. Less than 1 percent of food from China has been inspected by an American. Food has been sold that is poisonous for humans and our pets. Your children’s health and lives are at risk.

The United States was on the winning side in World War II because we were able to convert our existing industries from commercial products to tanks, warships, bombers, fighters and other equipment needed to fight the war.

Now we have lost the electronic entertainment and toy industries. We have lost 3 million manufacturing jobs. We are bankrupting, downsizing, offshoring and selling U.S. manufacturing industries to countries like China. This is destroying our ability to defend our country.

For a nation to be strong and prosper, it must grow, dig or manufacture. This produces wealth. Trade is good. Free trade is good, too, but only if all of the countries play by the same rules and strong U.S. government controls are enacted and enforced.

The leaders of the countries with large surpluses of exports to the United States profess to be free traders, but in reality they pursue predatory trade policies. The Chinese treat their companies as sacred, wealth-producing industries. They promote exports and discourage imports. They keep wages low, rebate value-added taxes on their exports and charge value-added taxes on imports.

They counterfeit and steal copyrights, trademarks and patents. They provide domestic industries with local tax incentives, offer special financing and charge tariffs on imports. They target specific industries to monopolize. They also keep the value of their currency low in relation to the U.S. dollar. This makes their U.S. prices lower. This creates jobs and wealth in their country and U.S. dollar surpluses.

This is not trade, and it certainly is not fair or free trade. No U.S. manufacturer can compete with the predatory trade practices of countries that take advantage of our free trade policy. We will continue to lose jobs, industries and wealth unless we change our policies.

The good news is that the majority of the middle class, both Republicans and Democrats, now believe free trade has done more harm than good. This was reported in a Wall Street Journal- NBC News Poll on Oct. 4. Common sense finally prevails.

The elite of both parties — that is the wealthy, the managers of the transnational companies, bankers, fund managers, importers and retailers — make huge profits from outsourcing jobs, investing overseas and importing cheap foreign products. Therefore, the elite remain free-traders.

This group also provides major funding for the senators and congressmen of both parties, providing the free-trading elite with greater influence than their numbers. Many of our top elected officials are free-traders. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, worked with the Bush administration to pass the Peruvian Free Trade Agreement Thursday in the House.

I want to help, but I cannot do this alone. During the Depression in 1933, many veterans of World War I were out of work. They marched on Washington in an attempt to get early payments on a bonus they had been promised. They were unsuccessful, but many believe that the GI Bill benefits provided to World War II veterans was a result of that 1933 march.

I propose that thousands of us march on Washington to save jobs and protest free trade. Gathering thousands of voters to demonstrate has worked before on other issues, such as civil rights. We can change the U.S. government’s free trade policy, but only if thousands are willing to make the sacrifice to help themselves, their children and their grandchildren. Please let me know if I have your support.